Books. Journals. Primary sources. Databases. Instruction. All are a part of the Mississippi State University Libraries. But there is so much more to our story.
This week the MSU Libraries joins libraries across the country and the American Library Association in celebrating National Library Week. This year’s theme is “There’s More to the Story,” and through the week of April 23-29 we will highlight our various units and the work they do.
Dr. Lis Pankl, Dean of Libraries for Mississippi State, encourages the MSU community to visit Mitchell Memorial Library and the branch libraries this week to explore all they have to offer.
“I think libraries are important because they offer opportunities to learn and connect with others,” Pankl said. “Academic libraries are central to the research and teaching mission of universities and offer students and faculty a third space for collaboration, socialization and community building.”
Libraries are welcoming spaces that bring communities together for entertainment, education, and connection. The MSU Libraries offers a wide array of programs, classes and resources, including special events, citation workshops, speaker series, Adobe Creative Cloud workshops, a fashion show, thesis and dissertation workshops and more.
“Libraries provide connection, to ideas, technology, resources, and are places to find community,” according to Teri Robinson, Assistant Professor / Coordinator of Thesis and Dissertation Format Review. As chair of the Professional Development Committee, Robinson is in charge of local Library Week activities.
Libraries also play a critical role in the economic vitality of communities by providing internet and technology access, literacy skills, and support for job seekers, small businesses, and entrepreneurs. The MSU Libraries is one of 3,697 academic libraries in the United States. There are also over 9,000 public libraries and over 105,000 school libraries.
The National Library Week celebrations include Right to Read Day (April 24), National Library Workers Day (April 25), National Library Outreach Day (April 26), and Take Action for Libraries Day (April 27).
First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and observed in libraries across the country each April. All types of libraries - school, public, academic and special - participate.
Both Pankl and Robinson believe it is important to highlight the work the MSU Libraries is doing for MSU, the Starkville community and beyond.
Robinson said many people do not realize that the MSU Libraries has over 20 units, as well as four branch libraries – the College of Veterinary Medicine, the Bob and Kathy Luke Architecture, Art and Design Library, the Phil Hardin Foundation Libraries (MSU Meridian campus) and Jackson Design Center – and the Old Main Academic Center. And of course, inside Mitchell Memorial Library we also have the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library, the Frank and Virginia Williams Collection of Lincolniana Gallery, the John Grisham Room, and the Charles H. Templeton, Sr., Music Museum.
Even with all the exciting and innovative things happening in our libraries, it is important to note we do still have books and journals, too. In short, the MSU Libraries has something for everyone and that deserves to be celebrated this week, and all year long.
